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Saturday, October 1, 2016

From
the creators of “Shrek” comes DreamWorks Animation’s “Trolls,”
a smart, funny and irreverent comedy about the search for happiness,
and just how far some will go to get it. The film transports
audiences to a colorful, wondrous world populated by the overly
optimistic Trolls, who have a constant dance in their step and a song
on their lips, and the comically pessimistic Bergens, who are only
happy when they have Trolls in their stomachs. After the
Bergens invade Troll Village, Poppy (Anna Kendrick), the happiest
Troll ever born, and the overly-cautious, curmudgeonly Branch (Justin
Timberlake) set off on a journey to rescue her friends. Their
mission is full of adventure and mishaps, as this mismatched duo try
to tolerate each other long enough to get the job done.

Happiness
was foremost in the minds of “Trolls” director Mike Mitchell and
co-director Walt Dohrn, even during the earliest stages of story
discussions with screenwriters/co-producers Jonathan Aibel and Glenn
Berger and producer Gina Shay.

The
two filmmakers had worked together on DreamWorks Animation’s
blockbuster “Shrek” franchise, and their familiarity with the
beloved ogres of that world led them to their distant cousins, the
Trolls. Their research into Troll lore, which sprang from
Scandinavian mythology, revealed that Trolls came in myriad shapes
and sizes, from monstrous giants to tiny creatures who granted
wishes. As DreamWorks had done with Shrek, Mitchell and
Dohrn decided to adapt the Trolls mythology to create a new universe
and set of characters.

The
filmmakers note that they did embrace one aspect of previous Trolls
history. “We were fascinated by how these creatures were
originally scary and evolved over time into being cute and lovable,”
says Mitchell. “In the 1970s they became a symbol for
happiness.”

“Those
ideas compelled us, as did the opportunity to create a story and
mythology from scratch,” says Dohrn. “We decided it was
time to start spreading some joy again. Mike and I had a blank
slate, from which we could create anything with these characters,
their story and their environments. With happiness as a
guidepost, we wanted to create a film with a mix of fun, adventure,
heart, music, color and textures.”

In
many ways, says producer Gina Shay, another of Mitchell and Dohrn’s
Shrek franchise alumna, “Trolls” hearkens back to the 1970s, a
time “when there was this feeling of freedom; disco, pop and dance
music was everywhere; and everybody seemed to be roller skating.
We wanted the Trolls to reflect that joy in their society.
They’re also very peaceful.”

The
Trolls even have a special kind of watch that reminds them to hug
every hour on the hour. No matter what they’re doing, when
the watch blooms, it’s “hug time.” Notes Mitchell:
“Part of being happy is connecting with others, and what better way
to show that than with a hug.”

“Trolls”
opens November 2 in cinemas nationwide (2D and 3D) from
20th Century
Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.